As they approach retirement, Canada’s younger boomers are focusing on health concerns over finances, according to a poll.
The 2013 RBC Retirement Myths & Realities Poll finds that 70% of those ages 50 to 59 rank physical health highest on the top challenges they expect to face as retirees.
Finances ranked a distant second, with 57% expecting changes to income to be a challenge during retirement. Within these rankings, men (73%) are particularly concerned about changes to their health, compared with women (66%).
“Younger boomers are more health-conscious as they near and enter retirement. Watching their older relatives and friends age has made this generation more aware that good health is not something to take for granted,” says Amalia Costa, the bank’s head of retirement strategies and successful aging.
“What they aren’t yet as aware of, however, is that health issues of their loved ones may have an impact on their retirement plans—not only on their finances but also in terms of time commitment and emotional stress.”
The RBC poll continues to underline how expectations don’t always match realities.
For example, while 40% of younger boomers don’t expect health or disability constraints to ever change their lifestyle or independence, 27% report that a significant health issue or decline has affected them or someone in their family within the past year.
At the same time, 42% of these younger boomers responded that being a caregiver to another adult was a support role they had already performed, were doing now or expected to do in the future.
Some of the impacts of caregiving already experienced or expected by younger boomers include a significant increase in stress levels (50%), significant out-of-pocket expenses (24%), moving/making accommodation changes (18%) and reducing the number of paid hours worked (15%).
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